AAP-BJP clash: Ashutosh, Shazia named in FIR

New Delhi, Mar 6 (PTI): Top Aam Aadmi Party leaders Ashutosh and Shazia Ilmi have been named in a first information report in which charges of rioting and damage to public property have been included, raising the possibility of their arrest while 14 party workers were arrested in connection with the clashes outside the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters here.

The FIR was lodged at Parliament Street Police Station on Wednesday night against the AAP protesters and it included names of Ashutosh and Ilmi who were at the site of clashes on Wednesday.

Police had initially detained 33 people out of which 14 were arrested late last night while others were allowed to go.

”All those identifiable and present at the protest site have been named in the FIR,” said a senior Delhi police official. Those arrested will be produced before a local court here in the afternoon.

Police said 28 people, including 13 AAP activists and 10 BJP supporters, were injured in the clashes.

Ilmi accused the Delhi Police of targeting the AAP and wondered why no action was being taken against BJP activists.

”Yesterday, we got to see the discrimination of Delhi Police, which joined BJP to disperse AAP supporters staging silent protest. Police could not see bricks, stones and chairs being thrown from the inside of BJP Headquarter...They could only see people much later retaliating. Police were protecting BJP supporters,” Ilmi charged.

Police have termed the AAP protest as completely illegal as no prior permission was sought by the party.

Ashutosh also accused Delhi police of bias against AAP workers.

”AAP supporters were injured in the clash. BJP leaders beat up our supporters. Delhi Police takes action when flower pots at BJP office were damaged but they didn't take action when our supporters were injured,” he charged.

Police said they have got the entire sequence of events videographed. Senior officials said more arrests are likely in the case.

AAP workers had on Wednesday fought pitched battles with BJP activists outside the saffron party headquarters here hours after party leader Arvind Kejriwal was detained briefly in Gujarat.